Volleyball sweeps Morehead...More on Lady Cards WBB win...Sandy previews Baylor vs. Tennessee matchup

.
SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Volleyball sweeps Morehead...awaits NCAA Selection Show

-Breaking down the Cards win over FAMU

-Sandy Walker previews #1 Baylor vs. #7 Tennessee

Louisville Volleyball ended the regular season and celebrated Senior Day yesterday afternoon in Cardinal Arena with a 25-12, 25-20, 25-18 sweep
over OVC champion Morehead.

The Cards started briskly against the Eagles in the first game...blowing out to a 9-4 lead and increased upon that as the game went on...winning by 13. Emily Juhl, Kaitlynn James and Lola Arsanbekova using their kill shot prowess to produce 13 kills against the hapless Morehead defense.

Game two was almost a repeat...Louisville taking command early and well on the way to a rout at 17-11...but Morehead found some pride and rallied to tie the match at 20-20. After a Cardinal timeout, Anne Kordes' troops ran off the final five points of the set...Lola stepping up big for the Red and Black.

In the final, the teams exchanged leads early and the game was tied at 11-11 before the Cards ran off five consecutive points and eventually led 20-14 en route to a seven point win....Louisville scoring the final five point of the game.

THEY SAID IT:

"We did what we had to do today. Today was about taking care of business and it was a group effort for the win. Caitlin Welch did a great job defensively and Taylor Brauneis set a great and balanced offense against a very good Morehead State team. WE did what we could do to create the opportunity for the NCAA Tournament. Our goal is to advance in the tournament and continue the tradition. Now, we wait and see what happens Sunday on the Selection Show." - Anne Kordes, Louisville head volleyball coach.

The announcements of the brackets and pairing will be made tonight at 6 p.m. on ESPNU. Good luck to the Volleyball Cards for a great seed and continued success!

******************************************************************

A look at some numbers from Louisville women's basketball's 86-66 win over FAMU yesterday in Tallahassee:

-Louisville continues their surprisingly good marksmanship from the charity stripe...going 15-23 for 65.2%. Bria was 3-4, Mo 6-9, Asia 2-4 and Becky 5-7.



Gibbs could steal.



-Cards with a 47-37 rebounding edge from FAMU after being tied at the end of the first half on the boards. Asia with eight, Cierra had seven, Shawnta grabbed 6, so did Mo and the Cards ruled the defensive rebounds 31-17. Not so good on the offensive end...where FAMU won the battle 20-16. 



-Although turnovers were too high at 27...they were pretty well equally distributed. Sara and Jude had 4 each, Asia three and seven players had two each. FAMU had only 17 turnovers.

-FAMU led the steals department 11-10. Shoni and Becky with three each. This is one of the areas UofL really misses Tia Gibbs...she was a master thief. 

-Minutes played. No Cardinal saw 30 minutes of action against the Lady Rattlers. All 12 Cards that made the trip played. The breakdown:

Becky Burke 29       Cierra Warren 17        Shelby Harper 13
Bria Smith 26              Sara Hammond 16      Antonita Slaughter 10
S. Schimmel 24       Shawnta Dyer 15        J. Schimmel 9
Sara Hammond 18   Asia Taylor 15            Sherrone Vails 8

Finally, Louisville held FAMU to 31% shooting (22-70). The Lady Rattlers got off 12 more shots than the Cards but Louisville made nine more baskets.

SONJA'S EARLY SEASON AWARDS:

-- MVP Gotta go with Mo. She's returned from injury and been outstanding. 16.8 p.p.g. and unstoppable in the paint. Do the Cards beat Texas A&M with her in the lineup? We'll never know...but she would have had an impact. 

--FRESHMAN MVP WE'll take Bria Smith here. A starter and impact player on both ends of the court. That lightning fast first step and base-line control are way impressive and rare for a first-year player.

--OFF THE BENCH Since Mo already has a award...I'll take Asia Taylor here. She impacts a game when she steps on the floor and has developed a good touch from the charity stripe.

-- FAN FAVORITE Her time has been limited this year, but the Cardinal faithful still whip themselves into a frenzy when Shelby Harper checks in. Dauntless, fearless and always in a hurry.

--HEART AND HUSTLE I pick Sherrone Vails...she has stepped up her defensive efforts this year, battles opposing centers tooth and nail and brings a spark to the Cards lineup when she takes the court.

--POWER IN THE PAINT Going with Cierra Warren, even though her Florida trip wasn't the best. Warren has strength, size and a sweet shot inside...she exudes confidence and swagger on the court...just gotta keep away from the silly fouls and fading away from the basket on close-in shots. Lean in, big girl!

******************************************************************

(SANDY WALKER is a contributing writer for Cardinal Couple. She'll make the trek to Knoxville today to watch #1 Baylor visit the Tennessee Vols and Pat Summitt. Here are her pre-game observations...we look forward to her post-game report.)

#1 ranked BAYLOR and head coach Kim Mulkey are shooting for a shocking three wins in a row over TENNESSEE in a highly anticipated pre-conference duel. It was last March when the Bears and the Vols met up...the Bears showing Pat and company the exit door from the NCAA Tournament. Both teams will be eager to establish and maintain dominance over the other early in this contest...and it could lead to another spring matchup as the schools march to the NCAA tournament.

The teams enter today's game going in different directions. Baylor is fresh off a win over previously #2 ranked Notre Dame and U.T. reeling after an unexpected overtime loss to unranked Virginia.

Emotions will be high today...Vols fans instructed to wear their "WE BACK PAT" t-shirts in honor of their coach and her diagnosis on early onset dementia. Sales of the shirts have raised more than $150,000 for Alzheimer's research programs and the Tennessee Athletic Department will present checks to ALZHEIMER'S TENNESSEE and UT MEDICAL CENTER before the game.

(Thanks to Sandy for a wonderful pre-game preview. CARDINAL COUPLE received (2) WE BACK PAT orange t-shirts earlier this year as a gift from our friend Joe Hill...who recently moved back into the Gatlinburg area after "retiring to Florida". WE can honestly say that WE are UT Women's basketball fans this year...we were even UT football fans yesterday, but they couldn't extend the win streak over Kentucky...losing 10-7 in Lexington.)

.
..
...